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1 (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. C. LAMPITT.

GRADING MACHINE. u No. 483,225. Patented Sept. 27, 1892.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-sneer, 2.

C. LAMPITT.. GRADING MACHINE.

No. 483,225. Patented Sept. 27, 1892.

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C. LAMPITT.

GRADING MACHINE No. 483,225. Patented Sept. 27, 1892.

H ///7 j l figue Pue/5 UNTTED STATES I PATENT OFZEHICE.

CHARLES LAMPITT, OF SOUTHGATE, ENGLAND.

GRADING--fMACHINE SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.483,225, dated September 2'?, 1892.

Application led March 14, 1892. Serial No. 424,869. (No model.) Patentedin England April 9, 1891,I No. 6,109 in Canada .Tune

` 10,I 1892,No. 60,363, and in Victoria June 30, 1892,1To. 9,763.

To all whom, it may concern/ Be it known that I, CHARLES LAMPITT,engineer and millwright, a subject of Her Majesty the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at Nelson Villa, Bounds Green Road, in the parish ofSouthgate, England, have invented a new and useful Grading-Machine, (forwhich I have been granted Letters Patent in Great Britain, bearing dateApril 9, 1891, No. 6,109; in Victoria June 30, 1892, No. 9,763, and inCanada June 10, 1892, No. 60,363,) of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to a new or improved manner of constructing amechanical apparatus for sorting or gradingbarley, oats, wheat, rye, andother grain, peas, beans, rice, and similar vegetable productions, andfor dividing and sorting the same or any substance or materialconsisting of large and small particles sought to be divided andseparated from each other.

My invention may also be adapted for use in drying and conveying grainsafter leaving the mash-tub of breweries, distilleries, and the like, ormay be employed for use as an elevator or conveyer of solid substancesafter the same has been sorted or cleansed, or both; and the object ofmy said invention when in use as a sorter and separator, and moreespecially in connection with cereal substances for separating therefromall matter foreign thereto, is to prevent all possibility of choking orclogging during the process, as occurs Yin many methods hithertoadopted, and by the application of my invention anysubstance orcombination of substances consisting of any number of degrees of size orvarying dimensions or contour may be so separated that each may bedivided and removed from the others by the same machine.

My invention when used as a grader or sorter of grain and the likeconsists of any number of solid or partly solid rollers arrangedparallel to and equidistant from each other, the ends of which arereduced in diameter and carried or borne in suitable sliding adjustablebearings provided at each end of the frame of the machine and arrangedto slide laterally with the rollers by the means of a novel mechanicalmovement, by which the distance or spaces between the said rollers mustbe, and always are, at all times equal to each other. The said adjustingmechanical movement is attained by the means of a transverse rod orspindle ateach end of the machine, passing freely through each set orVseries of bearings, a hole being provided in each bearing for thereception thereof. The said spindles or shafts are each furnished with alongitudinal slot, groove, or keyway, and passes freely through andcarries a number of metallic blocks in such a manner that the blocksoccur thereon alternately with the before-mentioned bearings-that is tosay, one blcckforeachbearing. Upontheinnerperiphery of each block I forma projection, which serves as a key for engaging with thekeyway in theshaft, and by this means the blocks and bearings are free to slide alongthe shaft; but

the blocks only can be rotated by and with the rotation of the shaft.Upon one side of each block is a threaded projection, which screws intoan internally-threaded recess in the companion bearing, and bytherotation of theshaft all the blocks are rotated, which according to thedirection thereof are either screwed into or out from the said bearingsand the distancesV a horizontal rod carrying a worm upon each endthereof, which engage with a worm-wheel keyed or otherwise rigidly xedupon the proper end of the said shafts, so that the turning of said rodby means of a suitable handle rotates both shafts in the same directionsi inultaneously and equally. To the outer surface of each of thebefore-mentioned rollers or each alternate roller or every third rolleror otherwise, as may be desired, is attached or formed integrallytherewitha helicoidal or spiral projection, the pitch and direction of nwhich are identical in all the rollers and so ar.`

ranged that the helix of one roller occurs alternately with the helixupon that of its IOO myself to any particular method of rotating thesaid rollers; but prefer to drive them by means o f worm-gearing in themanner to be hereinafter fully explained,although the same may be drivenby any suitable means whereby they may all be rotated in the samedirection and at the same speed.

I provide upon one end of the said machine and above the rollers asuitable hopper for the reception of the substances to be operated upon,furnished with sliding doors for regulating the feed, and as the grainor other substance when placed or shot into said hopper falls uponW therollers at theend from which the receding motion of the helix of eachcommences the same is carried thereby along the rollers and turned overand over in its passage, by which means the longest dimensions of thegrain or other substances become in line with the rollers, so that suchgrains or the like whose smallest diameter is less than the spacebetween the rollers must fall therethrough or therebetween into suitablechutes or receptacles, while the larger is conveyed to the endsY of therollers and Vfalls through spaces left between the ends of the rollersand the bearings for that purpose into a separate chute or receptacle,and may then be conveyed to a second machine whose rollers have beenadjusted to perform the next smallstgradation, or the same maybe againpassed over the first machine, when the rollers of this have beenadjusted for the same purpose, or any number of machines may be employedarranged in like manner to continue the grading Vprocess after eachother until the same is perfected.

By a slight modification of the foregoing the same may be employed atthe pumpingstation of sewage-works, in which case the rollers may beextended to any length and the sewage in its crude state allowed to flowthereonto, so that pieces of wood, bones, bagging, or other substanceslikely to choke the pumps maybe conveyed vby the revolving rollers wheredesired, while the fluid portion would fall between into suitablereceptacles to be operated upon by the pumps, and by reason of theopposing surfaces of each pair of rollers passing each other in oppositedirections choking or the accumulation of matter could notpossiblyoccur; but, on the contrai-y, the rollers would by the constant passingfriction be always perfectly bright and clean. i

My invention may be adapted for a variety of purposes, such as equallydistributing the feed to the Vrolls or sieves of purifiers and othermachines, it being impossible to choke or clog the rollers constructedand operating as hereinafter described and shown, and I am enabledthereby to sort or grade the material acted upon and convey the residueat the same time a distance equal to the length of the rollers employed.

In order that my invention and the manner of its operation may beclearly understood, I

have appended hereunto three sheets of drawings, in which- Figures 1 and2, Sheet 1, are plan and side elevations, respectively, of an entiremachine according to my invention as it would appear when constructed asa grading medium for cereal and other like substances or materials ofsimilar size and weight. Figs. 3 and 4, Sheet 2, are front and backelevations, respectively, of Figs.1 and 2. Figs. 5 and 6 are enlargedsectional views of a short series of 'bearings taken throughtlie centerof the ad- In carrying my invention into effect I castV or otherwiseconstruct of iron, wood, or other suitable material, and of anydimensions or contour, a frame A, upon the ends of which I mount withinsuitable journals transverse shafts or spindles B and B of sufficientstrength to carry the number of bearings C required. The said bear-ingsmay be of any suitable metal, cast or made solid or otherwise, and ofany-desired shape at their upper ends, but preferably rectangular incrosssection atY their lower ends. In Yone side of each of these I boreor otherwise form a circular opening or recess D, Figs. 5 and 6, Sheet2, extending any desired distance thereinto, but preferably one-half orthereabout, and provided wit-l1 an internal right-handed screw-thread.Each bearing U is accompanied by a circular or other shaped metallicblock or disk E, with an extension c formed upon one face thereof, uponwhich is cut or other- Wise provided an external screw-threadcorresponding to the thread in D, into which 0J is loosely screwed untilthe disk or block E abuts against C, as shown. A circular hole is boredthrough C and E, or cast or 'otherwise formed therewith, centrally withthe extension a, and of a size capable of permitting the shafts Bor Btopass easily therethrough. A longitudinal groove or keyway b is formed inthe shafts B and B for the whole of their lengths between the journals,and a projection c, formed upon the inner periphery of each of thedisksor blocks E, engages with b,V

so that while C and E would be free to slide along B or B', E only wouldbe rotated if a rotatory motion be given to the shaft, or two keys andkeyways may be used to engage E with B or B', as desired.

Each bearing C is bored or otherwise formed with a circular opening atits upper end at right angles with the bore for the reception of theadjusting-shaft B or B', which may be IOO provided with suitable brassesfor receiving the journal ends of the rollers. The rollers F may besolid or otherwise, but preferably the former, and made of chilled ironor steel or faced with the finest steel, upon the outer surface of whichis provided asingle, double, or treble helical thread extending from endto end thereof, and either cut thereon from the solid or fixed theretoby any suitable means, or cast or otherwise formed therewith. Eachroller is turned down at both ends to fit the brasses in the bearingsGand sufficiently to extend therebeyond when pushed home thereinto, forpurposes to be hereinafter explained.

The sides of the frame A may be held rigidly connected to each other byany suitable means, but preferably by that of tie-rods d, the length ofthese regulating the width of the frame, which would be variable,according to the number of rollers employed. In the accompanyingdrawings I have chosen to show a machine having seven rollers; but anynumber may be employed, according to the desired grading capacity of themachine, such number being preferably odd, in order that each machinemay have a central roller. I may in certain cases alternate the helicalrollers F with plain rollers F', or any number of rollers F with a plainroller F outermost at each side, as in Fig. l, Sheet l.

The capacity of the machine and the number of rollers it is to carrybeing decided upon a like number of bearings C, each accompanied by adisk E, would be mounted upon the shaft l5, so that C and E occuralternately thereon and B be placed in position upon the frame A. Oneend of the rollers F and F would then be placed within the bearings Cand a duplicate number of bearings C and disks E placed in alike mannerupon the shaft B', and this also placed in position upon A. The distancebetween the first and second or front and back rows of bearings wouid beseveral inches in excess of the length of the helical or larger diameterof the rollers. I have before mentioned that the turneddown or spindleends of the rollers are longer than the diameter of the bearings throughwhich they pass, the purposes of which are that by pushing the rollersclose up to the front bearings C upon the shaft B the spindle endsthereof would extend through and beyond the bearings sufficiently toreceive upon each and keyed orotherwise fixed thereto a worm-wheel e.This arrangement provides a space of several inches between the ends ofthe rollers and the back bearings upon the shaft B', as will be seen byreference to Fig. l, Sheet l, the purposes of which will be hereinaftermade understood.

I have previously mentioned that the rollers F and F may be rotated byany suitable means and may be driven from either end; but in practice Ifind it preferable to rotate `them by the means of a worm upon the front`end of the machine, as I make it a sine' qua non that the said rollersmust all rotate in the same direction and at equal rates, and I regardthe worm-and-wheel methodthe mostreliable means of attaining andmaintaining this, and as I intend the front end to be that end whichcarries the shaft B, I tix, as aforesaid, upon that end of theprojecting spindles of the rollers the worm-wheels e and mou nt withinsuitable bearings a worm G, capable of e11- gaging with and rotatingequally all the wheels e. One end of the spindle of G extends beyond theframeA and carries thereon a fast and loose pulley f f or an equivalenttherefor, by which the same may by suitable power be rotated.

The ends of the shafts B B extend beyond the frame A and carryworm-wheels H and H', which gear with worms J J upon each end of ahorizontal shaft K, carried within suitable bearings g and g', iixed tothe frame A, and upon one end of said shaft Kismounted a wheel or handleL, by which it may be rotated or partly rotated at will.

Upon the top of the frame A and above the rollers I provide a suitablehopper M, with adjustable slides 7L h', or their equivalents, forregulating the feed of the grain or other substance or material to begraded.

Now, presuming that the disks E are each screwed as far as possibleintotheir bearings C, the rollers F F' would be as near to each other asitis possible to get them and the space between them reduced to itsnarrowest limits. In the accompanying drawings the disks E areabnormally thick to what they would be in actual practice, this beingdone to prevent the appearance that the helices of the rollers were intouch with each other,but actually the rollers would be so arrangedbefore gearing the worm G with the wheels e that the projecting helix ofone roller would occur alternately with the projecting helix of itsneighbor, so that the disk E may be thin enough to permit the helix ofone roller to all but touch the body of its neighboring roller orrollers. Therefore the depth of the projecting helix would represent thesmallest grading capacity of the rollers, or approximately so 5 but asthe said helical projections or helical grooves serve no purpose otherthan that of conveyers the height of the formeror depth of the lattermay be less than the diameter of the smallest oat grown, and as thedisks E are used for adjusting the spaces between the bearings C, andconsequently the rollers F and F the thickness of the largest diameterof said disks may be only sufficient to prevent actual touch between thehelices of one roller and the body of its neighbor or neighbors.

The manner of operation is as follows: The pulleys ff and the worm Gbeing driven by suitable means would be caused to rotate in suchaidirection that by reason of the gearing of G and the worms-wheels ethe rollers F and F would rotate, so that the helical feed thereof wouldbe in the direction of the ar- IOO row, Fig. Land the grain or othersubstances to be graded would be shot into the hopper M, which, fallingupon the revolving rollers, would be conveyed by the agency of thehelices therealong, and by reason of the rollers all revolving in thesame direction would be turned over and over thereby, and choking orclogging would not be possible, since the opposing surfaces of each pairof rollers pass each other in opposite directions. By this means thelongest dimensions of the grain or other substance would be broughtlengthwise with the rollers and the shortest dimensions with the spacebetween them, so that the smallest grain or other substances would fallbetween the rollers into a suitable chute or receptacle N, while thelarger would be conveyed to the ends of the rollers and fall between theturned-down ends thereof provided for that purpose into the chute orother receptacle P. Now having extracted by this means the smallestgrains or other substances of the contents of M, to remove the nextsmallest particles from the contents of P the grading-spaces between therollers must be slightly extended. I attain this as follows: By turningthe wheel or handle L, and consequently the shaft K and worms J and J inthe direction of the arrow, Fig. 4, Sheet 2, the worm-wheels H and H andthe shafts B and B', upon which they are mounted, would be rotated inthe direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, Sheet l, and as the disks E are onlyloosely keyed to B and B these would be rotated thereby in the samedirection, which would have the effect of unscrewing each disk-E a likedistance from its bearing C at both ends of the machine simultaneously.Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, Sheet 2, in which the three sectionalelevations shown are numbered l 2 3 in Fig. 5, the bearings C androllers F are as close together as possible without actually touchingeach other and the disks E screwed right home into their respectivebearings C. Now if the disk E, No. 1, be rotated by the shaft until ithas been unscrewed from its bearing-say one-sixteenth of an inch-itwould push bearing No. 2 along the shaft a like distance, and as thedisk E of No. 2 would also be simultaneously rotated alike distance bythe shaft, it follows that that would also be unscrewed from No. 2one-sixteenth of an inch and would push No. 3 bearing a like distancealong the shaft, and so on for the whole of the series of bearings,irrespective of their number, as shown by Fig. 6, which represents Fig.5 after the unscrewing described. I am thus enabled by this device toprovide an equal adjustment of the space between each roller and itsneighbors by the simplel turning of the wheel or handle L, and as themovement of this may be by infinitesimal degrees it follows that thedistance between the rollers may be extended or diminished to thebreadth of a hair and remain in the position in which they have beenplaced for an indefinite period, or untilL be again rotated in thedirection desired. The contents of P- may now be shot into M and thesecond degree of grading carried out, as before.

To prevent the substances being graded from passing over the outerrollers F', I provide two horizontal vertical plates m and n, or theirequivalents, arranged to slide upon the shafts B and B', or by any othersuitable means. The plates m and n may be kept in close contact with therollers F by any approved means, but preferably by that of springs o,which also serve to press the bearings together when the space betweenthem is being reduced.

It may sometimes occur that it is necessary that the bearings C, whenthe spaces between them are being enlarged, should not all slide alongthe shaft in the same direction. By making any one bearing a fixture theremaining bearings on each side thereof would recede therefrom inopposite directions by the rotating of L, as before described,compressing thereby the springs o at each side of the machine. Themanner of adjusting the spaces between the rollers will now be fullyunderstood.

The diagram Fig. S, Sheet 3, in so far as regards the whole and splitpea or bean, clearly illustrates how my apparatus would separate the onefrom the other, while Fig. 9 serves a like purpose with regard to theseparating of oats from barley.

I have previously mentioned that my said invention may be adapted forthe grading, sorting, and separating of any substances or materialsconsisting of large and small particles which it is necessary should bedivided from each other, and in large establishments where a greatquantity of materials have to be so treated the apparatus describedcould be employed in duplicate or triplicate, or more if needed, eachadjusted so as to perform a grading operation following each other. Inillustration of this let it be supposed that a large quantity of mixedgrain-say oats-is lying in the top floor of a warehouse, and that thesaid oats are known or believed to consist of, say, ive different gradesor qualities that need separating. One of my apparatus could be placedon said door and the rollers so adjusted that the smallest oats onlycould pass between them. Aman could be continually employed to shoot thesaid mixed oats into the hopper M, the slides h h having been properlyadjusted that the feed may not be in excess of the grading capacity ofthe machine. The finest or smallest oats would pass out through thechute N, while the other four larger sizes would be carried along therollers into the chute P, and this could be arranged to lead to thehopper M of a similar apparatus in the next lower door, and so adjustedthat the next largeroatswould pass through the rollers thereof, Whilethe remaining three grades of oats could be passed in a like manner toanother apparatus gaged to perform the next degree of grading, and soon. Thus four ma- Ioo chines would divide the iive grades of oats, withthe labor of one man only, as each of the chutes N could be arranged tolead to suitable bins or other receptacles. Reference to the diagramFig. l0 will render this perfectly clear.

I wish it understood that I may construct the apparatus herein describedof any suitable material or combination of materials and wlthout limitof dimensions, and may rearran ge. the various parts relatively to eachother 1n any suitable manner for the purposes stated, so long as nosubstantial alteration be made 1n the construction thereof, withoutdepartlng from the principle of my invention.

Having now fully described my said invention and the manner of operatingthe same, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States of America, is

1. In combination, the frame, the series of parallel grading-rollers,means for rotating the rollers, the bearing-blocks at the ends of therollers, the means for supporting the rollers and bearing-blocks, consistin g of the crossshafts, and the means for adjusting thebearing-blocks, said means being supported directlyby the cross-shaftsandin operative connection therewith, substantially as described,

2. In combination, the frame, the series of parallel grading-rollers,means for rotating them,the bearing-blocks and adj usting-diskstherefor, the means for supporting the said parallel rollers, theblocks, and adjusting means, and for operating the latter, consisting ofthe crcss-shafts B B', having a splined oonneetion with the disks, andthe means for operating both the said shafts in unison, including theoperating connection from one shaft B to the other B', substantially asdescribed.

3. In combination, the series of parallel grading-rollers, withoperating means therefor, the movable bearing-blocks for said rollers,the interposed disks between the bearingbloeks, screw-threaded to engagethe same, and the means tor supporting the blocks and operating thethreaded disks, consisting of the shaft having a spline connection withthe disks, substantially as described.

4. In combination, the series of parallel grading-rollers, the movableblocks therefor, the shafts for supporting the bearing-blocks, and theinterposed screw-threaded disks E, having a spline connection with theshaft, the said blocks having screw-threaded recesses to receive thescrew-threaded ends of the disks, substantially as described.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twowitnesses.

CHARLES LAMPITT.

Witnesses:

GEO. THos. HYDE, SAMUEL J. EARL.

